Chapter 8
Of course the wedding was beautiful and Jessica was a gorgeous bride. I could see the tears in Brandon�s eyes as he watched Jessica
being led up the isle by Kent. The ceremony lasted close to 30 minutes with the preacher recalling memories of the love Brandon and
Jessica had from the very beginning. When they were announced as Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Littrell, I cried. Being the bride�s mother,
I saw that it as completely okay letting my tears fall freely down my face.
The reception followed and it was a party that seemed to go on forever. The guests constantly would hit their glasses with silverware
to see the new bride and groom kiss. Throughout most of the night, I couldn�t help but to notice Leighanne on Brian�s arm. The
suspense was killing me to know exactly what happened between them to end the marriage that seemed to be perfect 20 years ago.
Even though it was hard, I did my best to enjoy myself dancing and mingling with friends and family that I haven�t seen in a while.
Every now and then I would notice Brian looking over at me. When I would return the look, he�d smile the smile that made me melt so
many years back. Funny how it still had that effect on me.
The party was winding down and more than half the people left when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Brian. �You promised
to save me a dance.�
Feeling like I was in high school again, I blushed. �Yes, I think I remember saying something like that.�
He took my hand and led me to the middle of the empty dance floor. When he finally stopped and turned toward me, I stood there
completely forgetting what I was supposed to do. He kind of snickered and wrapped his arms around my waist, in turn me wrapping my
arms around his neck. Swaying back and forth with the music, I was in complete shock. It took all the concentration that I had to not
trip over his feet. We danced in silence through the entire song with me staring down at his chest the entire time because looking in his
eyes would have completely done me in at this point.
When the song ended, Brian led me over to one of the tables and we sat down. �So Lynn, tell me about yourself.�
�Other than the fact that I was a totally obsessed Backstreet Boys fan?� I said laughing.
�Whatever you want. Just tell me things.�
�Um�okay. Well, I run a not-for-profit animal sanctuary and spend most of my time dealing with that. I have my two kids, Jessica
and Mark, who is now 26. I have been divorced from their father now for going on 10 years. He and I are now best friends and I
would not have it any other way. Mark is married to a lovely girl named Stephanie and they have the most beautiful son Jason, who is
almost 2 now. Other than them, I have my zoo of many cats, dogs, birds, fish, horses, and anything else you can think of at home. I
think that�s just about it. What about you? What are you doing now?�
He leaned back in his chair and took a drink of cola. �Mostly I write and produce music. I am considering putting out that Christian
album that I wanted to do so many years ago but never had the time to do. Leighanne and I divorced when Brandon was 17 and then I
headed back up here to Kentucky with him. Although I wanted to have a boat load of kids, Leighanne�s career got in the way of us
having any more children. In fact, that is more or less what came between us � her career. Ever since Brandon left for college, I have
been doing nothing much other than work.�
�Sounds like we are a lot alike right now. Two people having nothing to do but throw ourselves into our work.�
�Yeah. It gets tiring though. Working day in and day out coming home to an empty house and throwing a frozen entr�e into the
microwave.�
�I know what you mean. I mean, I never really thought of it that way, but since you said it, that�s my life. Sad, huh?�
�Very.�
We sat there in silence watching the caterers clean up and the reception hall workers put the tables away. When they came to our
table, we got up and gave them room to fold it up and move it away.
Jessica and Brandon approached us and said their good-byes. It was pushing 2:00 a.m. and they had to leave in the morning for their
flight to Hawaii. In fact, I was ready to drop considering that I really didn�t get much sleep at all the night before.
Brian and I started to walk out together, but before we got to the door, he stopped me. �So, how about I take you out sometime?�
I looked up at him in shock. I heard exactly what he said, but my mind could not register it. �I�m sorry, but huh?�
He looked at me questionably and repeated himself, much slower this time. �How�about�I�take�you�out�sometime?�
I burst out laughing at the way he was talking. �I heard what you said, but�oh, nevermind. Sure, I�d like that.�
We traded numbers and he told me that he would call me early in the week to set something up for the following weekend. I walked out
to my car and got in and drove away. At the first stop light I got to knowing for sure I was out of range of his ears, I let out a loud
scream. I could not believe this was happening. My dream was finally coming true!
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